Getting to know... Clay

Catch these guys on their second ever headline tour, before they head out with Declan McKenna in January.

Published: 12:19 pm, November 28, 2016

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Meet brothers Joe and Jack Harvey from Leeds four-piece Clay. Along with bandmates Rob Gration and Danny Armitage, they’re off on tour later this week with a run that kicks off on 1st December in Sheffield, and includes a stop at London’s Borderline. The boys interrupt a busy rehearsal tweaking their upcoming set to tell us all about themselves.

Hey guys, how’s Leeds treating you at the moment? It’s a good place to be a new band, right?
Leeds is an incredible city to be living in at the moment, culturally speaking. It's evolving constantly and that's definitely something that's rubbed off on our music. It's definitely shaped us as a band and it's very humbling to be so well received by the city. We've sold out every show we've played at home so it's special to us for sure.

When did you first realise you wanted to make music?
I don't think I can pin-point a specific moment really, but it's a sort of inherent instinct, I think, wanting to make music. The desire to create something. For us personally, making music in our bedrooms, then playing sold out shows nationwide and seeing said songs mean so much to people, is what it's about. That's what keeps our creative juices flowing, if you will.

And how did you guys get together? Where did you meet Rob and Danny?
We're brothers (Jack and Joe), so we kind of gravitated together naturally in terms of songwriting. We used to rehearse at this tatty old studio in Leeds just the two of us, taking it in turns playing drums, guitar and bass. In that kinda short period, we managed to write a plethora of material, despite arguing 99% of the time and we realised we needed a proper band when we decided we were gonna take things seriously. We'd known Rob for years but had drifted apart and lost contact with him, despite him living fairly close. When we heard he had taken up bass and was quite the player, he was subsequently recruited. We tried several drummers, the three of us, but to no avail. We went to a house party one night and met Danny. We invited him to a rehearsal in drunken stupor, but it actually ended up happening and it was perfect.

You’ve not long dropped new single ‘6AM’ - what can you tell us about it?
Like all the best songs seem to do, it came out of thin air and was finished relatively quickly. It's about giving everything to something, and not having that emotional investment reciprocated. Deep.

What are your go-to places for songwriting inspiration? What do you like writing about?
We don't really have that 'go to' place to be honest. We're not the kind of band who write 493 songs and then pursue the best one. We will write one song and it will be killer. That's just how we work. I think we write a lot about frustration and solitude. It's not morbid though, honest.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="2/3

[vc_column_text]You’re off on tour from 1st December - are you ready for it? Is there anywhere you’re especially looking forward to visiting?
We can't wait! Touring is where we see our show come to life, so it's where we're at our most creative. We are so excited for Manchester and Cardiff in particular as they've almost sold out. The London show is set to be unreal too, it's one of the biggest shows we've done out of Leeds to date.

Do you have much experience on the road? How are you planning to spend your time between shows?
We've done a few support tours, but this is only our second ever headline tour so I suppose that makes us somewhere in between. In between shows, we don't really get to see much of the cities. Premier Inn, travel, soundcheck, show. Repeat. That's how it usually goes!

Do you have big plans for 2017?
We're touring with Declan McKenna with January which is gonna be insanely good. We've just been announced in the first wave of bands for Live at Leeds too which will be amazing. Other than that, we can't say too much. There will be new music, though.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3

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